Fundraising snippets

Welcome to M.fund.

I’ve meant to write down our experiences in the fundraising process for about two years now. We have cumulatively met face to face with about 150 people over the last three years to ask that they financially support our full-time service in Mission.

70% of all American missionaries raise their own funds. And those that don’t have no more assurance of making it to the field these days. A couple of years back, I read an article on the IMB’s website saying 50 missionary candidates had to be turned back, after they’d committed, because of lack of funding. The story cited one particular family where the husband given notice to his boss before the IMB realized they didn’t have the cash .

I know there are a myriad of books, articles and pamphlets already written on fundraising strategy. I own some of them, and have read some that I don’t own. mFund isn’t about strategy. This is about our own experiences, which have been quite varied. I’m writing them down so that my own feeble mind will be able to keep track of them, but more than this to encourage other people through the process.

At many points along this fundraising road, we have felt very alone in the ordeal. Yes, we knew a few other people who had raised support or were raising support. But a lot of them either got to full support much more quickly, for whatever reason, and are now on the field, or we moved apart in the process and were not longer able to encourage one another.

Thus, hopefully these snippets will encourage others who are mired in — or even those smoothly sailing through — the missions fundraising process.